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Let’s admit it—we are always dreaming of new
gymnastics skills; never-before-seen elements
that will literally springboard gymnasts to new
heights. Here are five skills that have yet to be
performed in women’s artistic gymnastics, but
may be attempted for the first time this ye
ar!
Vault
The famous Cheng Fei vault, worth a 6.4, has been
one of the top vaults in the world for many years
now. It's such a difficult vault, even with only 1 ½
twists, so it's amazing to think that more twists
could be added to it.
But the vault can be upgraded and it has been!
China's Li Xiaopeng used to compete a yurchenko
half-on with 2 ½ twists on the men's side, and it
was named after him. It has never before been
attempted in women’s gymnastics, but that may
change soon. Training footage has been released
of Mykayla Skinner attempting the amazing vault.
This vault would potentially have a D-score of 7.4.
Could the Skinner be the next vault in the Code of
Points?
There is another incredible vault that could be
attempted soon for the first time on the women’s
side. The triple-twisting yurchenko has been
discussed by several gymnasts in the past decade,
but no one has competed it yet. For two years
now, a handful of Americans have mentioned that
they’ve been training this difficult skill, including
McKayla Maroney and Simone Biles. Given the
incredible height of McKayla and Simone’s
Amanars, we could definitely see the triple this
year.
Uneven Bars
A Weiler kip with a full pirouette has been
recently attempted in training by at least two
gymnasts, Jordyn Wieber and Simone Biles. When
she was still training in early 2013, Jordyn
mentioned that she’d love to have the skill named
after her.
Simone actually had the skill submitted for review
at the 2013 World Championships. Although she
did not actually compete the Weiler full, the FIG
decided it would be an E-element skill. The
question is, when will it be officially added to the
Code? If anyone can do it, Simone Biles can!
Balance Beam
A video recently surfaced of U.S. junior national
team member Ragan Smith attempting a standing
full on beam in a piked position. If you weren’t
already impressed with this junior, prepare to
have your mind blown! This skill could potentially
be included in Ragan’s next beam routine (her
next meet will likely be in March at the City of
Jesolo Trophy).
Unfortunately, the skill won’t be able to be named
after Ragan until she competes it at Worlds or the
Olympics, and she won’t be a senior until 2016.
However, providing that she remains the only
gymnast to train the standing piked full until Rio,
we could very well see the Smith added to the
2017-20 Code of Points!
Floor Exercise
MyKayla Skinner has another skill that could
potentially be named after her in the near future
—the triple-twisting double back on floor
exercise. Already a recognized element in men’s
gymnastics, the triple double is a truly incredible
tumbling pass. Gym fans have actually seen
MyKayla train the triple, thanks to videos that
have emerged in the past year and a half. First-
year senior Vanasia Bradley is another U.S.
gymnast who has trained the skill.
With so many incredible elements being attempted
in gymnastics today, there is no doubt that we will
see some, if not all, of these skills in 2015! Cheers to
another exciting year of gymnastics and brand new
skills!
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